Raidoactive tritium found in storm drain at Salem 2 nuclear reactor

LOWER ALLOWAYS CREEK TWP. — Traces of radioactive tritium have been found in a storm drain system at the Salem 2 nuclear reactor on Artificial Island here, federal and utility officials said Thursday.

The tritium was found in water samples taken from the drain catch basin located north of the Salem 2 reactor.

Sunbeam file photoTraces of radioactive tritium have been found in a storm drain catch basin at the Salem 2 nuclear reactor in Lower Alloways Creek Township.The amount of tritium found in two samples closest to the plant structure registered 1.1 million picocuries per liter, according to Neil Sheehan, spokesman for the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Other samples taken farther away from the plant structure in the drain registered at 260,000 picocuries per liter and at 3,000 picocuries per liter.

The storm drain runs from outside the plant to the Delaware River. The drain has been blocked and none of the tritium is believed to have made it off-site, officials said.

The level of tritium found in the samples is not high enough to be required to be reported to authorities, but PSEG Nuclear decided it would anyway.

“Though we were not required to make a formal notification, we value our relationships with our stakeholders and believe it was the right thing to do,” said Joe Delmar, a spokesman for PSEG Nuclear which operates Salem 2 along with two other nuclear reactors — Salem 1 and Hope Creek — at the complex along the Delaware River here.

“Tritium is a very sensitive issue right now in the nuclear industry and we wanted to make sure that the public was properly informed that there was no release off site or any threat to the public or our employees,” Delmar said.

Along the NRC, PSEG Nuclear notified the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Nuclear Engineering.The federal safety standard for tritium in drinking water is 20,000 picocuries per liter.

Exposure to tritium in very high doses can cause cancer. However, the NRC says while the release at the Island causes concern, it is not a cause for alarm.

“We don’t believe it’s a danger (in the amount found) to the public or plant workers,” Sheehan said Thursday.

Anytime there is a release of radioactive liquid, plant operators should halt it as soon as possible and search for the source, Sheehan said.

“What’s important is they have blocked the drain for now and they are actively searching for the source,” Sheehan said.

PSEG Nuclear received results of their water samples on Tuesday and reported the findings to the NRC on Wednesday this week.

The presence of tritium, which can occur naturally and is also produced at nuclear power plants, has become a wider concern over the past few years as more of the substance has been detected around plants across the country.

“Salem’s not alone dealing with the tritium issue,” Sheehan said. “Many plants have had issues with tritium in the past several years.”

The important thing for plant operators is to find the source of the leak and stop it, Sheehan said.

NRC's regulations require proper accounting of all discharges of radioactive materials from commercial nuclear power plants.

Licensees report radioactive discharges and the results of all groundwater monitoring efforts in annual reports to the NRC.